Arcane Attraction

C H A P T E R 2 — Marcel.

I climbed the five steps that led to the doors of the throne room, moving at a leisurely pace despite the fact that I was already as late as I could have been. But I wasn’t too worried about that. Aurora needed to learn that calling meetings like this at the last minute was unprofessional. If the other Alphas had any sense at all, they would have stayed home. 

Once I had passed through the door, I slowed down even more, reminded of the presence of the guards who stood on guard, lined against the walls on either side of me. As usual, they were watching me intently, almost as if they expected me to shift and attack their wonderful Queen. It’s a pity that I had the brains and common sense not to attempt something like that. 

As usual, Aurora was seated on the throne, dressed in the same clothing that a commoner would have worn. I wasn’t even surprised when the corners of my mouth pulled downwards in distaste. In all the years that she had been Queen, she still hadn’t learnt the proper etiquette. I kept my head held high and my shoulders squared as I approached her, registering the lack of Alphas present. 

     “Aurora. Where, might I ask, are the rest of the Alphas?” 

I wasn’t surprised in the slightest when a chorus of growls rumbled through the air, the guards displaying the same hostility towards me that I had shown to Aurora. It didn’t take a genius to know that it was because of the fact that I hadn’t addressed her with the correct title, but I hadn’t done so once since I had realized how unfit she was to rule. I couldn’t give someone like her respect. 

     “They were not called upon. This matter does not concern them in the first place.” 

I felt my feet stick to the carpet below me, pulling me to an immediate halt. I shoved my hands into the pockets of my slacks, grinding my teeth together as I tried to contain my frustration. I could feel that I was slowly losing the grip that I had on my self control, but I forced myself into a state of calmness, focusing instead on my curiosity. What could possibly involve me and not the rest of the Alphas? Her dislike towards me was just as bad, if not worse, than mine was towards her. 

     “If it does not concern them, then why would it concern me? I do not recall having a change of title recently.”

My head tilted to the side as I took in the way that her eyes darted to the guards before she refocused them on me. I got the distinct feeling that she was about to lie. I wasn’t sure what exactly made me think so—perhaps it was just the way that her eyes had widened—or perhaps it was just a gut feeling. 

     “I’ve received quite a few warnings that you’ve been planning an uprising. Against me.” 

I practically felt the color drain from my face, my brows pulling down into the deepest frown that I could muster. I was thankful for the fact that my hands were in my pockets, for they balled into fists—something that the guards wouldn’t have taken kindly to, had they been able to see it. I shook my head slightly, wondering if perhaps I had misheard her. 

     “What did you just accuse me of?” 

I made sure that my head was turned slightly away from her so that my ear was pointed in her direction. I wouldn’t ask her to repeat herself for a third time—especially when I felt like I didn’t really need to ask her to repeat herself in the first place. I had heard her correctly. 

     “You heard me, Marcel. Your hearing hasn’t started to deteriorate, yet, so I don’t know what you’re on about. You’re planning an uprising against me, are you not?” 

I shook my head, turning away from her as I let out a disbelieving laugh. My hands finally found their way out of my slacks, my hand flying in her direction, as I pointed at her, hoping that it somehow conveyed what I was feeling, what I was thinking. 

     “You have no grounds to accuse me of such a thing! Do you have any idea what that would classify as? Treason. Just in case that lecture took place while you were playing house with your mate—” 

     “That’s enough, thank you.”  

I growled lowly, dropping my hands to my sides once more, uncaring for the fact that they had once more balled into fists. I could see by the downwards pull to her mouth that my words had served their purpose and struck the appropriate nerve. But what I did not understand, was how she managed to appear so nonchalant about the matter. 

She was accusing me of treason! An inaccurate accusation nonetheless, but she shouldn’t be this calm. Not even in the slightest. 

     “I’d like to lay a charge against you for delivering a false accusation. I will not tolerate you slandering my name like this, regardless of what your title is or who you think you are.” 

Her eyes blazed with fire, her own grip on the armrest of the throne tightening to the point where her knuckles turned white, something that I could see, even from this distance. We had played this back and forth game for years now, and I knew when she was close to losing her cool. Now was one of those times. But unlike before, I wasn’t going to back down. 

She had overstepped one of our unspoken boundaries and I wasn’t about to let her get away with it. 

     “Your charge is dismissed.” 

I growled once more, taking a threatening step towards her without even realizing that I was doing it. Of course, the guards reacted immediately, stepping towards me, ready to pounce if they needed to. I guessed that the Crown Shield was somewhere near Aurora, for he was more responsible for her safety than the guards were. I just couldn’t see him in that moment. 

     “You have no right to do that!” 

My voice bounced off of the walls, echoing in my ears a few times before it settled back into silence. My chest heaved as I kept my eyes glued to our so-called Queen, doing my best not to lose my temper more than I already had. Was she deliberately doing this? To get a reaction out of me? 

     “You’re forgetting that I handle all problems amongst higher titled families. You classify as a higher titled family, Marcel. I suggest you remember your place—” 

     “And I suggest that you remember yours.” 

I was greeted with silence, exactly as I had expected to be. I had never fooled her into believing that I saw her as my true Queen, and I never let her forget that. She was my equal. Whether she was prepared to admit it or not. 

     “I have nothing more to say on the matter.” 

     “So, that’s literally all that you summoned me here for? To tell me that you suspect that I’m planning an uprising against you? Believe me, the thought has crossed my mind, but I would never dare.” 

     “I know.” 

I stared at her, waiting for her to say something—anything—else. But of course, once she decided that a conversation was done, that was all that there was to it. Letting out an irritated growl, I turned around and started making my way out of the throne room, feeling the way that my blood was starting to boil. 

My footsteps were the only audible sound in the room during all the time that it took me to make my way to the door. I had no doubt that the guards were watching me, prepared for any sudden movements. If she was really such a great Queen, why did she need dozens of guards? Her subjects wouldn’t dare threaten her safety if they were loyal. 

I pushed open both of the double doors that led to the palace grounds, my blood running cold when I heard a c***k that could have only been bone. I froze, allowing the doors to swing shut again as I waited for pain to shoot through my body, but the only problem was, that it didn’t come. 

I turned back, looking over my shoulder and seeing that Aurora had stood up, watching me with a frown on her face. It was clear that she had heard it too, whatever it had been. 

I pushed open the door, a lot slower and carefully this time, my heart sinking as I took in the stream of blood that seemed to gush out of the girls nose. Her hand was already coated in it, and it her dripping onto her clothes. I didn’t even think about my actions when my hand wrapped around the back of her neck, my hand pushing her forward and down so that she wasn’t messing up her clothes. 

     “Lean forward, you bloody i***t—”

The rest of my sentence got caught in my throat, a reaction caused by pure shock. Was I imagining it? Surely I had to be. I took a moment to breathe in the air around me, feeling my lungs expand before I dared to decipher the scents that filled my senses. Instead I focused on the tingles.

The tingles spreading through my entire body—the feeling similar to pins and needles—and it originated from the place where my skin my contacts with hers. I hadn’t noticed anything other than the metallic scent of blood in the air, but upon taking a deep breath in, I picked up on her scent. Although faint, it was there. And it drew me in like a moth to a flame. 

I pulled my hand back, pulling her upright in the same movement. My free hand pulled her hand away from her nose that continued to pour out blood like a tap, while my other moved from her neck to her chin, raising her face so that I could get a better look at her. The blood made it rather difficult to do so. 

My eyes tried to make contact with hers, but they failed, as she seemed to be looking everywhere except for at me. I noticed the red veins that had started to show in the whites of her eyes. But I knew—even without her looking directly at me, I knew. 

This girl, who’s nose I had unintentionally broken, was no one other than my mate. 

I felt my own eyes widen as I watched hers roll into the back of her head, her chin slipping out of my grasp only a moment later before she started to fall to the ground. I found myself growling once more, except that this time, it was out of something other than anger. Why hadn’t she started to heal already? A broken nose wasn’t serious enough to take this long to heal. 

My hands wrapped around her upper arms, my grip tighter than it should have been to make sure that she didn’t have the chance to fall down any farther than she already had. I pulled her upright, almost losing my hold on her, before I slipped my arm beneath her knees and picked her up. Her head immediately lolled to the side, slamming against my shoulder in the same movement before it stayed there. 

I turned back to the throne, not even surprised in the slightest when I found that Aurora still hadn’t moved any closer, despite her obvious curiosity. Her head was tilted to the side as she stared at me and then at the girl, clearly trying to figure out what was going on. 

     “Where is there an empty chamber? And for goodness sake, someone call the bloody doctor. She’ll bleed out at the rate that she’s healing.” 

I didn’t even bother to wait for her answer, knowing just as well as she did, that this castle was empty, which meant that every single room was available for use. No one ever stayed at the palace unless there was an occasion for it, or they had business that involved the Queen. It was needless to say that there weren’t business issues that involved the Queen. 

I found myself lookin down at the limp figure I carried in my arms, not once allowing my footsteps to slow down. It was then that I noticed the chain that she wore around her neck. I recognized it immediately, my memory serving me better than I had thought it would. 

It was a simple chain really, one that was as common as a nap on a Sunday afternoon. It had been produced in bulk, hundreds at a time, and delivered to the packs, as well as the palace. The Royal Emblem was melted into a pendant, which not only told me where she was from, but another puzzle piece that I deemed as a lot more important. 

She was a human, here under the protection of the Queen.